The One
by Wyldehart
Summary: How does a man know who is "the one" for him? Alistair learns that maybe it starts with something as simple as friendship in this sweet pre-romance tale. Some suggestive descriptions but nothing naughty.


**The One**

_Taking a short break from Tainted Dreams. It's getting darker so here's some lightness to keep us all grounded. Alistair-centric fun! Enjoy. Bioware, I love you for allowing me to play in your sandbox!_

Thunder off in the distance caused Alistair to jump. Since Lothering had recently been taken by the Darkspawn, he found himself leaping at practically everything. He reassured himself that it was _just_ thunder and not, say, the thundering feet of an army of Darkspawn. _Breathe. Breathe…_he reminded himself. On the other side of the fire, Elissa sat in her tent, leaning against her bedroll, reading. She was quiet and thoughtful, ever generous and understanding. He supposed he also liked the fact that she could handle herself in a fight yet, she still had her vulnerable moments. He'd found himself liking her more and more as time wore on and recently, he discovered a desire to kiss her. It was strange, really. He'd wanted to kiss girls in the past but never so much as now. He thought he liked her. He thought he could even love her. How does he know when a woman is right for him?

How does a man know who is _the one_?

Lightning flashed and thunder growled off in the far distance but closer than it had been. To the west, clouds were building, growing darker with the passage of time. He watched it for a while before taking off his shirt and tucking it under his head. The rain would feel good on his skin, he decided, as he waited for it. When it got too heavy, he would bolt for the nearest tent and seek shelter. For now, he was content to simply lay there. His peace didn't last. Suddenly, a much brighter, closer streak of lightning lit up the world around him, causing him to bolt upright. The thunderclap that followed was deafening. A second later, rain poured from the sky like a heavy waterfall, soaking him instantly. It was ice-cold.

Sputtering and shivering, he grabbed his bedroll, his pack and his soaked shirt and headed for Zevran's tent but Leliana was already inside. Sten was stoically facing the storm in his armor. His _metal _armor. Alistair thought he was insane. Wynne was standing inside Morrigan's tent, her own having collapsed under the heavy rainfall. He groaned. As he started off for the tree, he heard a voice calling his name. Elissa came out running and grabbed his thick bicep with both her hands and pulled him toward her tent. She too was soaked now. "Are you insane?" She called over the roar of the storm. "That last big bolt _struck_ the tree! It's a blasted lightning rod! My tent is safer. Come on." _Safer for whom_, he wondered as he allowed her to pull him away from the tree.

He followed her inside and she left the flap open just slightly. She shivered as she moved around to the back of the tent and crouched near her sleeping roll. She opened her pack and started digging through it until she found a replacement for her soaked shirt and a blanket to wrap around them to stave off the cold. He blinked as if noticing for the first time just how transparent the white, sodden fabric had become in the pouring rain. Then she pulled the shirt up and peeled it away from her pale, damp skin. It was the first time he'd ever seen her bare breasts. Maker's breath, they were fascinating to look at though he couldn't fathom why. He felt his groin do something evil and he winced. The cold rain had hardened her dark nipples into two, small mountains of red in twin circles of puckered pink. He caught himself gawking. "If you stare any harder, your eyes are going to fall out of their sockets, Alistair. Then you'll have to find them and I can't guarantee how clean they will be," she observed with an amused smile tugging at her mouth.

He blinked back at her, his eyes reluctantly disengaging from her beautiful bosom and his cheeks promptly blushed. "I-ah-it's just that, uh, I-I'm not, well, it's, you know that…ah…"

"You're so cute when you're bashful. Careful, Alistair, I might begin to think you like me if you keep up that adorable shy routine when you're around me." She pulled the shirt down over her breasts (he sighed with disappointment) and selected a book from the ones stashed in the corner of the tent. Alistair peered at it curiously and noted the title: "'The State of the Bannorn within the Last Ten Years'". The date of publication was boldly stamped on the spine and was dated about five years ago.

"You're reading… _that_?" he asked, eyebrows lifted inquisitively.

She looked up at him, eyes twinkling. "Yes. Is there a problem with that? It's _good_ to learn about the Bannorn, especially you since you may someday be their king."

He rolled his eyes and turned his head to gaze outside the tent. The rain was pounding heavily, splattering mud over everything and the thunder was deafening. They would have to relight the fire, he decided irritably. He watched the rain closely, trying to avoid her smile, the way her wet hair looked in the lamp-light. He _really_ wanted to kiss her. "_That_ again. I have neither the desire nor the inclination to become king. That book looks _terribly_ boring. Especially to us un-kingly types."

Elissa had moved during his examination of the storm and was now preparing to curl herself up against him under her blanket. Her hand caressed his bare chest. He jumped as she nestled herself into his arms like his old cat would do when it wanted attention. "Ah. Much better. You're actually quite cozy to snuggle up against, you know that? So, I was telling you about the book here. You like gossip. Well, this is the best kind of gossip there is. It's detailed information concerning the Bannorn and individual Banns with an emphasis on the most powerful ones. Best part is that all of the information is fairly recent, going back about fifteen years up to about five years ago. _I'm_ even in it! And it's written in an entertaining fashion by a brilliant and creative writer. Were it not all true, you would think you were reading an anthology of fictitious tales."

"Hmph. Still sounds boring…" He wasn't sure what to do now that he was being used as a glorified teddy bear. So he curled his bare arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder as he peered into the book. Okay. This wasn't so bad. He actually kind of liked being curled up like this. She added some pillows around them and they settled in together read while they waited for the rain to cease.

She flipped the pages to one particular chapter and smirked up at him. "You won't think it's boring when I read you _this_ juicy tale. Amongst us nobles, this particular bit is perhaps the most infamous tale to come out of the Bannorn in recent years. It is a tale rife with _lust_ and betrayal!"

He perked up a little. "Lust?" he asked.

She turned her face to smile up at him. Oh, the temptation to kiss those red lips was almost unbearable. He leaned forward to do just that but was once again taken off guard by her breasts. The shirt, he noted, was voluminous and allowed a straight shot down the front of it from his vantage point. He found himself unable to move, his eyes enraptured for a moment by those delightful mounds of soft flesh. "Hm. For a moment I thought you were about to kiss me. What a shame. Anyway, yes. There is lust. Lots of it. Let us begin, shall we?

"'Once upon a time, there was a happy couple; The Lord Albion Peirce and his lovely wife, Lady Ehlanne Peirce. They were not among the most powerful of the Bannorn but their name was old as the wind and colorful as autumn leaves. They seemed the epitome of success and happiness. They were in love. Or so it seemed.

"Little did the rest of the nobles know but Lady Ehlanne harbored a deep secret. For when she married her husband, she married him without being fully in love with him. There was another whose heart whispered to her. There was another who was closer to the local Arl and was more powerful than her husband. But more, she had met this Bann during a landsmeet and, sadly, had already promised herself to her husband. T'was a shame, really. She had fallen deeply for this Bann that night. They had talked and talked for hours, enjoying their company and desiring nothing less than to meet again and again. Thus began an enduring friendship and romance. But one day, her friend and lover stopped sending for her and often was too busy to even see her. She was so very saddened by this.

"Finally, the day came when she came to her husband and proclaimed the marriage null and void, showing him a document signed by the Chantry allowing her divorce. She ran off to find her lover and decided to declare her love for this person. But again, she was turned away. After some weeks trying again and again, she went there once more and this time was allowed inside. 'I have left my husband, my Darling! Won't you take me in?' she begged. The subject of her love, the very _female_ Bann Coleen Deveralt, smiled sweetly and kissed Lady Ehlanne softly upon the lips. 'I so love you, my sweet,' she said, 'But I have met a charming fellow who is recently divorced and ready to wed as soon as I am able. We've been having a rather torrid affair these last several months. I love him, you see. And, politically, it does benefit us both. I feel terrible for it but it is for the best. I doubt he will share me. Forgive me this betrayal. I know naught what else to say, my love.' Ehlanne fled, so heartbroken was she and embarrassed by this terrible revelation.

"You see, Lady Ehlanne had no land, no money and no prospects of her own. It had all come from her husband, she being the youngest daughter of a minor freeholder. Her only hope was to marry another noble but none would have her, not after her abrupt divorce. After many weeks, she ran back home, hoping her husband had not yet moved on with his life. She planned to beg him back. So when he opened the door, she threw himself into his arms and begged for his mercy, for his love and he pushed her back but not without sympathy. 'My lovely wife, alas, I am married already and I cannot take you back. Our divorce could not have been more fortuitous because I have made a great alliance with a more powerful member of the Bannorn who is perfect for me. Sadly, I confess that I was cheating on you. Will you ever forgive me?' She'd heard these words before and it broke her heart to hear them yet again.

"The blood withdrew from the Lady's pretty face as she stared at her husband. 'Who is it?' asked she in a small, quivering voice. She looked up and saw none other than the beautiful and mighty Bann Coleen Deveralt. Her lover. Her friend. _Her_ husband's _wife_! Her heart shattered, she fell to her knees, sobbing. They had been cheating on each other with the same woman all along! Lady Coleen stared at Lord Albion and said, 'You never told me your wife was Ehlanne! How _could_ you?' she shouted with anger.

"Lord Albion sighed. 'Coleen I only knew that she had been unfaithful. I never guessed she was cheating on me with a woman, let alone the very woman_ I _was cheating on _her_ with! I assumed it was a man. There is only one way to settle this, you know. I still love Ehlanne…' he said softly. Lady Coleen knelt by the sobbing Ehlanne's side and pulled her up to stand. She held her tightly, protectively. 'As do I, my lord. But our marriage is significant, a union of lands and might unprecedented in these fractured times. We…must not divorce. Is there something else we may do to help this lovely woman who is beloved to us both?'

"They gazed at one another for some time before Lord Albion took Ehlanne into his arms and invited Lady Coleen to them as well. 'If my Ladies will forgive me, I propose that I must need two women in my life, both to love me and each other so that our shenanigans are kept within the family and approved of by us all.' There was laughter at first and then great curiosity as to whether such a union could possibly be acceptable, let alone practical. The women looked first at him and then at each other and, together, they drifted up the stairs to the bedroom where, it is claimed, they had never experienced better sex."

Elissa leaned back against Alistair's bare chest happily and took his hand, holding it against her bosom. He thought (rather hopefully) that he could feel her nipple through the thin fabric. "The three are together to this day! They have four children, three of them born to Ehlanne and one born to Coleen. They remain in love and run their corner of the Bannorn together as a family."

Alistair sighed against her, loving the feel of her body against his. "I can't imagine what I would do with two women. I mean, do they take turns? One gets Friday, the other gets Wednesday?"

Elissa laughed and turned around in his arms, their noses touching. "I rather suspect the ladies like making love to one another as much as to _him_. If that's the case, I can imagine it's very pleasurable for everyone involved. No turn-taking necessary." She giggled and touched his cheek with her fingers. He lifted his chin, trying to brush his lips against hers. She deftly dodged them with a teasing grin. "Don't _you_ have any yearnings in that direction, Alistair?" she teased him.

He shuddered and blushed deeply. "I wouldn't know the first thing about it. Never having had sex, I'm at a loss for how to handle _one_ woman let alone two! _Watching_ them though…"

Elissa sighed. "That wasn't the point, Alistair. They managed to find their destiny in one another. I guess, you could say, they were each other's soul-mates having become _best friends_ first. When it came down to forcing a choice, they chose _all_ rather than nothing. It's a difficult decision to make, I think. But being the best of friends was the first step to being the best of lovers. I like that idea. Alistair… _You_ are _my_ best friend…"

Suddenly, unexpectedly, Elissa kissed him. It was spontaneous and passionate, leaving him breathless. "What was _that_?" he asked, his heart pounding in his chest. Was she really doing this? He hoped it wasn't more teasing. She smiled and rose to her knees, arms about his neck. She lowered her lips to his once more and kissed him until he felt his body shudder with pangs of desire. They spent the remainder of the storm lying in the embrace of the pillows, simply kissing and holding each other. "Let's start you with just _one_ woman for now…" Elissa remarked happily.

That was when Alistair discovered how a man knows who _the one_ is.

Fin


End file.
